Chittagong University (CU) has once again become a bloodbath. The violent clashes that have erupted over a trivial matter are condemnable and worrisome.
The incident started with a female student not being allowed to enter through the gate of her residence.
But later it escalated into clashes between university students and local residents. Section 144 also had to be imposed there to control the situation.
According to students, a female student lives in a rented building near Gate No. 2 of the university.
When she tried to enter the building around midnight on Saturday, she got into an argument with the doorman. At one point, the doorman beat her up.
When the students at Gate No. 2 went to question the doorman, he tried to escape.When the students chased him, local people started throwing bricks at the students.
At the beginning of the clash, police members along with the university’s assistant proctors Md. Korban Ali and Nazmul Hossain arrived at the scene around 1:45 am.
The army arrived at the scene around 3:30 am and brought the situation under control.The incident could have ended here, but it didn’t due to the alleged excesses of the local residents.
According to media reports yesterday, after the clash on Saturday night, hundreds of students took positions on one side and locals on the other on Sunday morning.
Both sides continued to shout slogans against each other. At one point, brick-throwing began between the two sides.
Around 180 students were injured in the clashes on Saturday night and Sunday, some of whom are in critical condition.
Such violence over a trivial incident is in no way desirable. In this situation, the biggest question is, have the university administration, law enforcement, and political leadership fulfilled their responsibilities properly? The clash between Chittagong University students and locals is not new.
But why can’t a permanent solution is found to stop the clashes?
We believe that the weakness of the university’s security system, the undue influence of party politics, and the interference of local interest groups are repeatedly inciting such clashes.
Due to the limited housing facilities for female students at the university, many have to live in rented houses. Thus, the housing problem of female students must be resolved as soon as possible.
We hope that the government and law enforcement agencies will provide all possible assistance to the university administration so that such incidents are occurred in future.
